The Cinderella Fairytale Rundown
by CharismaHarmony
Summary: AU Hinata thought she and Naruto have the perfect marriage… until she found out she failed to get pregnant after 5 years. Naruto now works so hard Hinata wonders if he’s ready for a baby at all. Is Naruto having an affair? Will Hinata fall in love with so
1. Chapter 1: Gone

**The Cinderella Fairytale Rundown**

Author's Note: Okay, you guys have convinced me to put it into a fresh new story. When I first started to write this, I was treading on angst and a sadder part of a fairytale, another unexplored site. I'll try to make the characters from the previous 'Cinderella Makeover' to fit in with 'Cinderella Fairytale Rundown' (I have a penchant for long titles).

Calling Sasuke/Hinata fans! I'm going to write 'Hot Mom Around the Block' just for you :) and also for my enjoyment of Hinata/Other Boys. Did I mention Itachi will be in my SasuHina fic:P AU and comedy is my specialty. Maybe. Hahaha. Oh dear, now I need is consistency...

Setting: England. Why? Naruto's job transfer and Hinata wanting to visit her mother's birthplace.

Disclaimer: Wouldn't it be funny if I am related to Masashi?

Summary: AU Hinata thought she and Naruto have the perfect marriage… until she found out she failed to get pregnant after 5 years. Naruto now works so hard Hinata wonders if he's ready for a baby at all. Is Naruto having an affair? Will Hinata fall in love with someone else? Sequel to 'The Cinderella Makeover Naruto Style'.

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Gone

When had the glass gone off? This year? Last year?

How long were they married? Five years?

When Hinata failed to get pregnant immediately, she realised. A chill seemed to have crept in, a disappointment in each other, a sense of failure and perhaps reality. Her golden world had come to an end, and maybe there was nothing structural underneath to support them now.

Hinata needed to think. Needed space and time to consider their relationship and their future - if they had such a thing. And she couldn't do that here. She longed to contact her sister or Temari, even Neji… but she didn't want them to worry. She was the one that encouraged Naruto to take up the job in England, so she'll have to learn how to be independent now. Hinata had been learning that for five years.

Reaching for the keyboard again, she scrubbed what she'd been doing for the past few minutes, found a property website and clicked on Scotland. She loved Scotland. She'd always loved it, ever since her childhood, ever since she found out her mother was Scottish and left Scotland to follow her father to America.

Hinata dialed the estate agent with shaking fingers.

"I'm in a hurry to move to Scotland," she told them. "I don't need a mortgage - just somewhere small for me and the dog, with a home office if possible. Remote, if you can, and as cheap as possible but civilised. It must have heating and plumbing, thought, and it needs a phone line."

"Do you want to buy or rent?" the young lady asked. "Only we've got property that's just come on the books which sound ideal, but they want to rent it just for a few months until they decide what to do."

"Furnished or unfurnished?" Hinata asked, suddenly thinking of all the things she'd have to buy to equip a new home, and wondering if she was quite mad.

"Oh, furnished," the agent, told her. "It's fully equipped and really lovely - two bedrooms, although at the moment you'd only have the use of one because they've put a lot of personal stuff in the second, but there's a room over the garage and you could use as an office. They've gone to France and won't be back unless things don't work out, but it won't be very expensive even if they do sell it, not that far north. The only thing is there's no guarantee it'll come up for sale."

"There's no problem. It would help me now, at least. How far north?" she asked, her curiosity aroused.

"It's an hour's drive, near where Madonna was married. Near Tain, on the Dornock Firth. It's got wonderful distant sea and mountain views, if you don't mind the isolation."

"I'll take it," Hinata said instantly. "When could I move?" Excitement was fizzing into her like champagne, the bubbles forming on the walls of her veins and tingling through them, bringing her to life.

"You haven't seen the details!" the woman exclaimed, but Hinata had heard enough.

"What's it called?" she asked.

"Little Guthrie." She spelt it, and Hinata wrote it on the Post-it note next to the agent's number and stuck it on the wall over her desk in the attic.

"Can you fax me all the details?" she asked then.

Within two hours it was set up, and she'd arranged to call in for the keys in two days' time. All she had to do now was get there...

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The house was empty.

Odd, how he knew the moment he set foot over the threshold. The dog was missing, of course. That was a bit of a giveaway.

She must be walking him. At 4:30, just barely into February? It was dark, or it would be soon. Not really safe on the roads. She'd probably gone over the fields instead, but it was very wet. In fact, he thought, remembering his drive home, it was pouring with rain.

She must be mad.

He put the kettle on. She'd want tea when she got in. Tea and sympathy. Hell. He wasn't very good with the sympathy thing. He never seem to hit the right note. In the meantime, he'd go chnge out of his suit and put on something mroe relaxed. He'd been in a suit day in day out for days... Weeks. Years?

The bedroom was very tidy. He'd obviously been away too long, he thought.

Naruto scrubbed a hand tiredly through his hair and dropped onto the edge of the bed to pull off his shoes. Where was Hinata? It was dark now, the fingers of night creeping across the sky. Surely she wasn't walking the dog still? It would be dangerous in the wet and inky blackness.

He stood up and crossed to the window, peering down into the garden, but he couldn't see a thing. Could she have taken shelter in the summerhouse?

Unlikely. She would sure have run back to the house if she'd been caught in the rain.

Maybe she was in but hadn't heard him. The garage?

No, he'd put his car away on in the way in, and the electric zapper for the door also turned on the interior lights. He would've seen her, and anyway, why on earth would she be lurking there in the dark, for heaven's sake? Besides, there was a dog. If he was here, he would've barked by now.

Unless she was in the vet with him, or staying with a friend. Maybe that was it. Maybe she'd been lonely and thought he wasn't coming back yet.

No. Her car was in the garage, what was he thinking about? She didn't go anywhere on foot, except to walk the dog, because there was nowhere to go that was near enough.

So, where _is_ she?

He changed quickly and went downstairs, still puzzled. She should've left him a note for heaven's sake.

Even though she wasn't expecting him? "You're being ridiculous," he muttered, conscious of a gnawing disappointment that she wasn't here to greet him. So much for surprising her!

Then common sense reared it's mocking head, and he rang her mobile number.

He got the message service, and irritation edged into concern. He left a message, trying to sound casual.

"Angel, I'm home. Just wondering where you are. Ring me."

He hung up, feeling a little aimless and lost. She was _always_ here when he came home, and the house was dead and empty without her. He'd make tea. Maybe she'd be home by the time it brewed. She might have gone to a friend's car - perhaps to walk dogs together, and then back to the friend's for tea? They were probably out of range of the phone.

Naruto paced the window, glowering out into the impenetrable blackness of the wet night. It was truly foul out there. What if she was lying somewhere hurt?

Oh, God.

Panic surged through him, and he pulled on his dog-walking coat and some wellies and went out into the garden, noting as he did that, her coat and boots were missing. He called her as he tromped over the sodden grass, scanning around with the torch he'd taken with him. It hardly penetrated the gloom, and he didn't know where to start. The garden was a maze of a mini-wilderness, ten acres, many of them were rough and wild and boggy, with lots of places where she could be lying out of sight.

The woodland? Or.. oh, lord, no... the lake?

He crushed the panic and told himself not to overreact, and concentrate on calling the dog, over and over again, but there was nothing. After an hour, he gave up and went back inside, ready to phone the police, and that was when he spotted the note.

It was stuck on the front of the fridge door, held by a magnet, and he pulled it off and opened the envelope with fingers numb with cold and wet.

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**What do you reckon, dear readers? (I know, I reposted it again :P)**


	2. Chapter 2: Getting Her Back

**Getting Her Back**

**Previous Chapter**

_I've gone away for a while. I need to think. Don't worry, I'm fine. I'll ring. Hinata. PS. I have the dog._

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Naruto stared at the paper, stunned. Gone away? To think? _Think_? Think about what, for God's sake? 

The baby, he thought with a wave of sadness. The baby they couldn't seem to have. _Oh, Sunny._ A lump formed in his throat and he swallowed it, hard. _Where are you? What are you doing? _She shouldn't be alone-

The phone rang, and he snatched it up and barked, "Hello?"

"Naruto, it's me. I just got your message. I didn't realize you were coming home yet."

He stabbed a hand through his wet hair. "Where the _hell_ are you?" he snapped, his tone was of uncontained anger rising. "I've been worried sick. I've been out in the rain and the dark, scouring the garden with a torch – I've only just found your note. How come you haven't got the car – and what do you mean, think?"

"I've got another car."

"What? He sat down abruptly, stunned for the second time. "What do you mean you've got another car? That one's almost new!"

"I know. This is mine." _Mine. _Somehow, something about the word rang alarm bells in his head and he stared at the phone cautiously. "The other one's yours."

The phone cackled and Naruto almost didn't catch what she said.

"Not in the same way." Her voice was tight. She let loose a sigh and then continued, "Anyway, I just want you to know I'm all right. I'll be in touch." She hung up.

The burr of the dialing tone sounded in his ear.

"Hinata? Hinata? Damn you! Don't do this to me!" he yelled, and slammed the phone down, frustrated by his impotence. _Where is she? What is she doing?_

Thinking.

_What the hell did that mean when it was at home?_

Naruto phoned her again and bombarded her with text messages, but to no avail. He was met by a relentless silence that nearly drove him crazy. He paced around all evening, throwing together a scratch meal of bacon and eggs and instant noodles– about the only thing he could cook – and channel-hopped for a while, but the television couldn't hold his interest, so he had a hot shower and got ready for bed, but he was wide awake because it was still only five in the evening New York time, so he went into the study and went through some paperwork that was waiting for him.

And all the time, Naruto only saw Hinata's face, a pale, perfect oval framed by that glorious soft, thick, shiny hair the colour of moist peat. Her eyes a deep pool of bright twinkles, but when she was angry, it swirled like hot iron, and when she was aroused, they went a delightful soft mewl. Her mouth would yield to his touch, her lips swelling slightly and becoming rosy from his kisses, and afterwards her smile would be gentle, and mellow, and loving –

Naruto frowned. She hadn't looked like that for a while. It had all lost its spontaneity, and the sparkle seem to have gone out of their relationship. _What relationship? Apparently, they didn't have one any more_, Naruto thought bitterly, slamming down the report, unread.

_Damn her, where was she?_

Naruto left the study, prowling around the house, his temper fraying at the edges. He made a drink – just tea, he's had too much alcohol and coffee in the past few days and he was feeling jaded and rough around the edges. If only he could sleep, but there was no way. Between Hinata and the jet lag, he was stuffed. Maybe a long, hot soak in the bath would help.

Naruto went upstairs, and as he turned off the landing light, a chink of light under the attic door caught his eye.

_Someone must've left the light on… Hinata, probably, searching for a suitcase. _Naruto couldn't help but feel a sting in his heart. He opened the door at the bottom of the narrow little stairs and reached for the switch, but the stream of gold came from further up. He nearly didn't bother, but something prompted him to go up.

There were three rooms up there, cluttered and untouched. The whole floor was filled with a load of old junk, really, things they'd bought and outgrown and the need for, old family things they didn't have the heart to throw out, broken wedding gifts… He hadn't been up here in months – years, probably. He never needed to.

But someone had, because everything had been cleared out of one of the rooms, and it was almost empty. Empty, except for a desk, a chair, a filing cabinet and a telephone – and a dangling flex with a bare, glowing bulb on the end.

Naruto stared around, utterly confused, and slowly crossed to the chair, running his fingers thoughtfully over the back of it. It was his old desk chair, too upright to sit at for long, but ideal for working at the computer. Better than the one he had now, in fact, although not as good looking.

Still, that wasn't everything.

He looked around the room, puzzled. It looked like an empty office after a business had moved out. Odd scraps of paper here and there, barren and lifeless, the heart gone out of it. Naruto sat down and went through the desk drawers, but they were empty. _The filing cabinet?_

He checked. _Also empty._

He checked the bin, but all there was in it was a bit of stamp edging and an old envelope with a frank mark on it – a frank of a firm in Scotland.

_Edward Gluich Estate Agents, Inverness._

_Estate agents? Why was she corresponding with estate agents? Unless it was a clue to her whereabouts – _

Naruto tore the place apart, searching every nook and cranny again, and then pulled the desk out of the wall. Nothing. Then, behind the filing cabinet, he saw a sheet of paper.

His hand won't fit, so he grasped the cabinet and shifted it, then plucked the paper from its hiding place. It was dusty and wrinkled, handwritten, a mass of jottings and calculations of figures. Figures that looked like a turnover of a business. Figures that made him blink.

_Hinata's business?_

Doing what? Maybe she was working as a homefinder? Hence the letter from the estate agents. _No, she'd never earn that much._

Naruto glanced at the back of the desk, and there, suspended halfway down the back of it, hanging by a corner, was a yellow sticky note. He peeled it off, and sat down on the desk, thoughtfully.

Edward Gluich, it read, and a number, and jotted below were the words 'Little Guthrie'.

_A house? Had she for God's sake bought a house in Inverness?_

With what?

He looked down at the figures again, and shook his head slowly. With that maybe. With her apparently very healthy income. Unless she was renting.

He looked at his watch. Ten minutes past midnight. Almost nine hours to kill before he could reasonably ring the estate agents and find out what the hell was going on. _If they'll tell me, of course,_ Naruto thought ruefully, which was by no means a foregone conclusion. He'd have to play the guileless, rather daffy husband, and just see how much he could get out of them. He'd play it by ear.

Unless, of course, he made a personal visit. Naruto glanced at his watch again. He wouldn't sleep, not a chance.

He took the little yellow note and the envelope and the calculations, flicked off the lights and went into his room, tipping his suitcase out ruthlessly on the bed and repacking. He'd need wash things, a towel perhaps, and thick, warm clothes. Nothing too formal, and nothing much. He didn't intend to be there for long.

He left the house before twelve-thirty. He needed to see her, and he needed to see her now.

Naruto hit the almost deserted A1 within minutes, and headed north, reaching the outskirts of Edinburgh and stopped briefly for a late breakfast, stocking up on enough coffee to keep him awake. He made it to Inverness by one.

He parked the car in a multi-storey and asked someone the way to the estate agents, then wound his way through the streets until he found it.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the window as he entered the office. He looked shattered, his eyes red-rimmed, his mouth a grim line. _Good grief! If I didn't lighten up, they'd think I'm an axe-murderer! _Naruto forced his shoulders to relax as he pushed the door open and went in.

The office as almost deserted save for a young woman who sported a missing earring and tired eyes. She looked up and gave him a friendly smile. "Good afternoon, sir. Can I help you?"

Naruto chanced a glance at the name plate on her desk: _Nemoto Shizune_

Naruto dropped into the chair opposite her and treated her to his most persuasive confused-little-boy grin. "I hope so. I've driven all they way here from London to join my wife, and I can't find the directions she left me. They must have fallen out of the car door pocket when I stopped for breakfast." He rubbed his hands with a forlorn expression on his face. "She's just acquired a property from you – at least, I hope it was you. Your name rings a bell. I hope I won't have to trawl round all the agents." He dragged a hand through his hair and tried to look as if everything was against him. Not hard, under the circumstances.

"What was the name, sir?" she asked him, and his heart thumped with anticipation.

"Uzumaki. She moved very recently – the last couple of days. I feel such an idiot for losing the directions – I'll blame it on the jet lag. I've just got back from New York," he explained with a rueful smile, hoping she'd feel sorry for him. Naruto should seriously consider acting as a side-job.

Or not. Shizune was shaking her head. "Uzumaki – that doesn't ring a bell, sir, I'm sorry."

He thought rapidly. "How about her maiden name? She sometimes uses it for business," he lied wildly. "Hyuuga Hinata. I think the property's called Little something."

Shizune's face cleared. "Oh, yes, of course, Ms. Hyuuga. I picked up the keys of Little Guthrie yesterday morning. I couldn't forget her – she had a dog with her, a real teddy bear." Naruto could hardly keep his face straight when he heard Shizune called Akamaru a 'real teddy bear'. Kiba gave them his dog before they took off for England. The 50-pound white retriever was nothing of a docile pet. Akamaru used to cause mayhem whenever he was not taken for a run, and I don't mean the healthy jog you do every morning. _Used to?_ Naruto bit his tongue; he pulled awry face.

"That's right – Akamaru – our white-golden retriever. He's a bit friendly, I'm afraid." _Charming to the ladies, just like Kiba, I bet._

Shizune laughed good-naturedly, mellowing, and Naruto realized with grim satisfaction that she was falling for his charm. _Just give me the directions_, he thought desperately, _before someone with more sense of client confidentiality emerges from the woodwork and everything grinds to a halt._

"No problem, Mr. Uzumaki," she said with a smile. He felt relief course through him. "I think we've still got a copy of the details we prepared, they'll have the directions on. Here. It's a lovely property – really cosy. I hope you find it all right there." She handed him a set of details from the filing cabinet and smiled again. Naruto could've hugged her right there.

"You're a lifesaver," he told her earnestly. He smiled again, treating her to the full wattage, and she went pink and dimpled again. The phone rang, and with an apologetic smile she turned to answer it. It was a cue for him to leave.

Naruto read the directions, located it on his road atlas and pulled out of the car park. _Just one more hour_, he thought.

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**Thanks to all you lovely people who reads it (continued to do so) and reviewed :) **

Miss Smarticle, jenniebennie, Angst, animegirl007, Hatake Megumi, LovedLess231, HiN4-cH4n, winterkaguya and also those who've alerted my story.

**You guys are gems.**


	3. Chapter 3: I'm Not Going Without You

**The Cinderella Fairytale Rundown**

**_Sorry for not updating regularly, but I will now. Hopefully before university starts on March, I would've finished it or at least halfway there. Thank you for reading and reviewing, my faithful readers. -hugs-

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"I'm Not Going Without You"

Hinata heard the car before she saw it, grinding slowly down the track towards the house and disturbing the peace and tranquillity of her hideaway.

A neighbour come to welcome her? The postman?

From her vantage point in the office over the garage, she peered down the driveway a little warily. "Who is it, Akamaru?" she asked, her voice instinctively lowered. The white-breed retriever whined and stood up on his back legs, his front paws on the windowsill. His white head turned to watch Hinata. Such an odd expression on Akamaru, that Hinata began to have suspicion that the person coming up to the driveway was someone she knew.

The ghostly silver bonnet of Naruto's Mercedes nosed through the gateway, its headlights gleaming dully in the fading light, and her heart sank as the car crunched over the gravel and came to rest beside her much more modest Ford.

How on earth had he found her? She'd been so careful, cleared everything away without trace, or so she'd thought. _But I cleaned the attic spotless, haven't I?_

There must've been something lying around, some little clue.

_Damn._ Hinata chastised herself and she took a few steps back, her footsteps muffled by the pair of soft bedroom slippers. Her back met the wall, her hand automatically reached out to cover her forehead. She'd always known he'd find her in the end, because he didn't give up on anything. However, Hinata had hoped for a few more days – maybe even weeks – to sort her thoughts out.

And now he was here.

Still.

Maybe he'd ring the bell and go away if she didn't show herself. She quickly grabbed Akamaru's collar, pulling him down beside her. He whined in protest and tried to jump again, but she hung on tight.

"Ssh, Akamaru. Be quiet," she whispered.

He whined again, recognising the sound o the car, and she wrapped her hand around his muzzle and stroked him with the other hand, trying to calm him. "Good boy. Hush now. Maybe he'll go away."

_Not a chance, _Hinata snorted softly under her breath, and Akamaru knew it. Just in case though, she hung on to his muzzle lest he was determined to bark a greeting. Hinata petted him constantly to keep him quiet.

Edging up to the window, she peered down on the drive and watched.

Naruto got out of his car, straightened himself and then looked around; his eyes narrowed, scanning for clues. First, he checked out her car, then he went over to the cottage and knocked on the door before turning the handle and going in.

_How dare he just walk into her house?_ Hinata fumed, crossing to the other side of the room, peeping through the roof-light to get a better view.

Hinata could see him going from room to room, flicking lights on, prowling. She watched him move around, doing his tour of inspection. It didn't take him long. There were only two rooms downstairs, one at each end, and the stairs running from side to side with the bathroom behind them. Above were two bedrooms, hers and the store, and a big cupboard full of knick-knacks.

_Surely he couldn't be much longer_, Hinata thought, the adrenaline surging through her body and it made her heart race.

It didn't take him long and he emerged from the front door, shrugging down inside his coat collar against the bitter wind, and she moved back a little from the window, her heart pounding with suspense. Maybe he'd think he'd come to the wrong house and would go away.

Or not.

He looked up at the window, his eyes seemingly fixed on her face, and even from the distance she could see their piercing aquamarine blue. Hinata shrank back into the shadows, getting a better grip on the wiggling dog.

Akamaru could hear his master coming, hear the crunch of footsteps on the stones and the squeak of the handle as the door opened at the bottom of the stairs. A blast of icy cold air invaded their cosy little hideaway; Akamaru whimpered and squirmed in her hands. The stairs creaked under a firm, steady tread, and Naruto's head appeared over the top step, his eyes assessing.

"Hello, Hinata," he said, and the dog, displaying a singular lack of judgment, hurled himself out of her arms and hit him in mid chest.

_Traitor, _Hinata huffed.

Naruto staggered back when Akamaru threw himself at him, giving him a wet and welcoming lick-greet. Naruto rubbed the dog affectionately. "Hello, Akamaru." He gently push the dog down out of the way and climbed the last few stairs. Naruto looked around, his eyes like twin blue lasers, scanning the sophisticated computer equipment, the notes pinned up on the wall, the collection of mugs by the keyboard.

"Nice little place you've got here."

Hinata sat down in front of the computer, blocking his view of the desk, or trying to. "What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm and not give in to the anger building in her.

"Interesting set-up," he said, ignoring her question and continuing inspection of her pinboard. "What's the business?"

"Mine," Hinata said a little hostilely. She cleared her throat. "It's mine, and it's private. I repeat, what are you doing here, Naruto?"

His eyes met hers, red rimmed with exhaustion but determined; the blue of his irises touched with flint. "I would've thought it was obvious. I've come to take you home," he said softly, and her traitorous heart kicked in her ribs.

"Not a chance. I told you I want to think," she said, putting up a front.

"You can think at home."

"No, I can't. I just want this time to myself. You should've rung. Now, you have a wasted journey. I've got nothing to say to you at the moment, and I want you to leave. This is my house, my office, my life."

"And you're my wife."

"Am I?" Hinata asked bluntly, and Naruto recoiled a fraction, as if she'd struck a painful blow.

_Good_, she thought, ruthlessly crushing her guilt. She was fed up of him taking her for granted. She stood up, gathering the cups together and standing waiting by the top of the stairs. She gestured for him to go down, but he just smiled and took her chair at the desk, turning on the monitor and tapping keys on her computer and opening files, flicking through her personal business with ridiculous ease and a casual disregard for her privacy.

"Leave it alone! That's nothing to do with you," Hinata fumed, ready to dump the dregs of the cups on his head. Naruto spun around in the chair and fixed her with those piercing eyes.

"You're a web designer," he said slowly.

"Ten out of ten. Out."

Naruto unfolded himself from the desk and stepped closer, searching her face. "There was no need for you to leave. You could've told me you wanted to do it," he said, his voice seductive, almost convincing.

"I wanted it to be mine," she said, and he gave a tiny huff of laughter.

"Mine again. You seemed to be using that word a lot. Whatever happened to ours?"

"Yours, you mean."

His eyes narrowed, then shrugged. "I don't know what's eating you, Hinata, but we'll talk about it when you come home."

"I'm not coming home," she repeated emphatically, but he just smiled.

"Oh, I think you are."

That was it. Hinata dumped the contents of the mugs on his head and stomped off down the stairs, leaving him swearing under his breath and brushing ineffectually at his clothes. A smile tugged at her mouth, but she suppressed it. It was a childish thing to have done, but he'd provoked her beyond endurance, and she wasn't going to laugh it off. God forbid he should think she wasn't serious about this. She was done being dictated to.

Naruto was right behind her, his temper barely under control. Hinata felt a tiny fission of anticipation. She hadn't seen him really angry for ages, but she knew she could trust him not to hurt her, and right then, she was spoiling for a fight.

She marched over to the cottage, just half a stride ahead of him, and he was through the door behind her before she had time to slam it in his face.

"It won't work, Hinata," he said grimly, following her into the kitchen with Akamaru at his heels. "I'm not going without you."

"Well, I'm not going, you're not staying, so it's going to be a bit tricky, really, isn't it?"

"I mean it," he said, his voice taut with determination, all that earlier gentle coaxing game banished by the coffee dregs in his hair. "I'm not going to walk away from this. You are my wife, and if you think you can just run off like this without talking about it, you're mistaken."

"I hardly ran off."

"No? Then why didn't you tell me where you were going, and what you were doing? And what the hell is this business you've been running in the attic of my house without telling me? How long has it been going on?"

"_Our_ house," Hinata snapped. "Do I need to ask your permission on that?" She threw the mugs into the sink with loud thunks. Washing the mugs vigorously, she transferred all her irritation into making them spotless.

Naruto sighed with the harsh exhalation filled with the same frustration and irritation that she was feeling. After she was done, she turned around just as he hooked out a chair from the table and dropped wearily into it. His eyes were tired and red-rimmed, his face was drawn, and she remembered he'd been travelling now for over 24 hours.

He didn't have to come up here after me, she reminded herself. It was his choice.

Then, a little dribble of stale coffee trickled off his hair and down his temple and dripped onto his coat, and Hinata felt a twinge of guilt. Her guilt prompted a partial climb-down.

"I'll make you tea, then you can go," she conceded.

Hinata waited for a second, but instead of repeating his intention to stay, he merely settled back, folded his arms across his chest and smiled.

Rats.

He looked so sexy when he did that, sexy enough to distract her – but only for a moment.

Hinata reminded herself of all the reasons why she was here – his authoritarian behaviour, his expectations of her, the time he spent away from home when she was left holding the fort.

Holding the baby? Hinata shuddered to think what would have happened if she had conceived. Would he have come home at all, without the need to impregnate her at regular intervals?

No, there was no way she was going back to him. Not yet, at least, and maybe not ever.

Even if he did have the sexiest eyes she'd ever seen. She'd fallen for them years ago. She wasn't falling for them again.

_Oh no…

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**I feel like I've written a lot :P though some of you might say I write little. Haha. Was listening to Avril Lavigne 'Nobody Home' when I wrote this. Thank you again for your loyalty. :)

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	4. Chapter 4: I'm Not Going to Fall for It

**Thank you everyone for their reviews! Lots of encouraging ones (and really brought about a smile on my face) and other real blunt ones (to the point where it made me delayed posting this chapter). Sigh, thanks DemonHeat for telling me otherwise :) and all of you other lovely people who will continue to read my fanfictions.****

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Chapter 4: I'm Not Going to Fall for It

_She was a web designer._

Naruto was amazed, although he shouldn't have been. If he'd given a moment's thought, he would have realised that sitting at home with only the dog for company while she waited to see if she was pregnant wouldn't be enough for her. Hinata was too bright, far too bright and full of imagination and life and restless invention.

_She did take up the offer of being a clothing designer for Kurenai, the star-studded celebrity. _Naruto mused at his next thought, _Hinata eventually designed her own clothing line with the tag name 'Parade'. _He smiled with pride. That accomplished, he must have been crazy to imagine she would then settle down to wait for maternity to catch up with her,

Not Hinata. Of course she needed something to do.

But to do it n secret, without sharing it with him – that hurt, Naruto thought with surprise. He wondered when things had started to go wrong, and realised with shock that he hadn't even noticed that they had until now, when he'd thought about it and remembered what it used to be like between them.

Things had gone wrong, though, or she wouldn't be here now, hundreds of miles from home, making him tea before she thew him out on his ear.

_Well, tough._ He wasn't going, not till this was sorted out. A quick glance at the window looked like the weather was playing right into his hands.

Naruto stood up and swished the little curtains shut at the single window, blocking out the view of the snowflakes that were starting to whirl against the glass. In an hour, with any luck, it would be falling too thick and fast to allow him to venture out, so he'd have to stay.

They might be snowed in for days…

Naruto felt his body stir. He'd missed her. It had been a couple of weeks since he'd seen her last, and a little making up would be fun. Hiding a smile of satisfaction, he settled back in the chair, picked up the mug of tea she pushed towards him and prepared to wait her out.

**o**

It infuriated her when he did that.

Sitting there with his tea propped on his belt buckle, a patient look on his face, and said nothing. Of all the things he did that got her mad, this was the worst. But she promised herself she wouldn't rise.

_Not this time._

Picking up her own tea, she changed the subject from her to him. "How was New York?" she asked as if they were sitting in their own kitchen and she hadn't just walked out on him.

He didn't twitch an eyebrow, to his credit, but then he was a very successful businessman and used to hiding his reactions.

"Cold, dull. I miss you."

If only that were true, Hinata thought sadly, remembering the times he'd gone away at first and how glad she'd been to have him back – how eagerly she welcomed him. But recently…

"How's Sai?" she asked, enquiring after the New York Partner who handled most of the North American business, and refusing to rise to the bait.

"All right. He asked how you were."

"And what did you tell him?"

Naruto smiled, a slight hitch of one side of his mouth, not really a smile so much as a grimace. "I told him you were fine," he said softly.

Hinata looked away. Naruto was too good at boardroom games. She sighed and sipped her tea, wishing he would go away and knowing full well he wouldn't, not at least without a promise from her to come home – a promise she couldn't make.

"When did you get back?" she asked, wondering about his jet lag and if he'd had any sleep.

"Yesterday afternoon. I was home just after four." The unspoken reproach hung in the air and irritated her into retaliation.

"I didn't _know_ you were coming back yesterday."

"No, of course not," he said, and then continued with mild reproach. "Not that you were there to take my call- "

"I don't have to be there twenty-four hours a day," she reminded him sharply, and his eyebrow quirked up in response.

"Of course you don't," he said soothingly. "But you know my mobile number, and I do think that you could perhaps have done more than leave a note before you walked out on our relationship."

There was no attempt now to hide the reproach, his voice hardening and showing for the first time.

Hinata folded her arms, her cup of tea still in her hands. "I didn't walk out on our relationship, I just wanted a little space," she reminded him.

"I would have given you space if you'd asked for it. You could have said so. You know you only have to ask for anything."

"Maybe I didn't want to ask. Maybe I'm sick of asking for everything."

"Sick of sharing?"

"We don't share," Hinata told him flatly. "We hardly share anything anymore. I'm amazed you noticed I wasn't there – "

"Don't be ridiculous, of course I noticed."

"Yes, you would have had to pour your own drink, make your own supper." Hinata added. "Poor little lamb."

Naruto growled under his breath, and she buried her nose in her mug and ignored him.

"You could've said something, discussed it with me," he went on.

"And have you brushed it aside? Or trivalise it? Patronise me with another of your "you don't want to do that" lectures? I didn't want that Naruto. I wanted to think – to have time to work out in my mind just how I feel about us before it's too late."

"Too late for what?"

"Before we become locked together irretrievably into parenthood. I want to be sure I want your baby before I conceive, and at the moment I'm not sure. Not sure at all."

"I take it you're not pregnant again," he said cautiously, putting her hackles up.

"No, I'm not damn well pregnant. I don't _get_ pregnant, remember?"

"And the business?" Naruto said smoothly, moving on without drawing a breath. "How long have you been running that? A year? Eighteen months?"

"Nearly a year."

"A year. You've been running it for a year – successfully and yet you didn't mention it," Naruto's tone bordered on accusation. However, Hinata had. She had. Over and over again, she'd nearly told him, but it had never seemed like the right time.

"You're always too busy, or away, or we're entertaining guests. There's never been a good time," she told him. "We never have time to talk."

"In a year?"

Hinata sighed shortly. "Naruto, you've been away – and when you've been home – " All he'd done was try and get her pregnant. But she couldn't say that, so she shrugged and shook her head and gave up. Not Naruto though. He didn't give up.

Naruto settled back and folded his arms and gave her a level look. "I'm not too busy now. You want to talk about it, tell me about it now. I've got nothing else to do."

"Yes, you have. You're going." She stood up, taking his cup and tipping the contents into the sink.

That brow arched again. "I don't think so."

"Tough."

"It is. Look out of the window. I'm going nowhere."

Hinata opened the curtain and pressed her face to the glass, but all she could see was swirling white. She muttered unintelligibly and stormed to the door, yanking it open. As she did, an arctic wind and a blast of snow drove her back into the house. She slammed the door with difficulty and turned to lean on it, frustration threatened to overwhelm her.

There was no way he could drive through that.

Naruto was looking at her with a knowing smirk.

"Alright, you can stay," she said grudgingly. Whatever was wrong with their relationship, she didn't hate him that much to throw him out to his death. Even so, she's bent on setting the boundaries. "You will have to sleep in the sitting room. You aren't sharing with me."

Naruto gave a soft snort. "Don't be silly," he reasoned. "We're married. We've slept together for five years. What difference can one more night make?"

_Plenty to me_, Hinata thought, knowing her own weakness for his charm and knowing quite well that he'd turn it up full to get her back, if that was what he wanted. It was too dangerous to let him near.

"Either you sleep in the sitting room, or you go," she said, firmly, avoiding answering his question.

"Fine," he said, and Hinata did a mental double-take. It wasn't like him to back down so uncharacteristically fast – if at all! He settled back into the chair and folded his arms.

"Any more tea?" His eyes were wide and innocent, but Hinata knew better.

There was nothing innocent about Naruto – never had been, never would be. He could be ruthless with his charm, and at the moment it was targeted right at her.

_I'm not going to fall for it._

Hinata was determined not to.

* * *

**Yay! I'll be updated a bit slowly because of university, work and social meetings. But I promise to work on it :)**


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